The six cylinder that has sustained previous generations is on borrowed time even before public availability.

BACK tracking on an initial boldness – to retire the traditional V6 from the new Highlander and lay all bets on a hybrid drivetrain – appears to have become an unnecessary safeguard, going by how consumer preference is trending.

 While the eventual model line-up reflects how Toyota New Zealand subsequently decided to retain a six-cylinder choice – thus u-turning on a call shared with media last May –the car’s pre-order trend suggests they probably could have safely stayed the original course.

 At a media event today, staging four weeks ahead of the model’s showroom availability, the national distributor has acknowledged the new four-cylinder petrol-electric version of this medium seven-seater will literally lead the charge.

There’s a positive to this in that they see it as reinforcement of thought that private buyers are now recognising the benefits; already one in three Toyota buyers are favouring hybrids.

Highlander forward ordering has been particularly robust, with 800 of this year’s 1200-unit allocation already spoken for, but of greater surprise is that 85 percent of those early bird sign-ups favour the new choice.

The V6 editions – now down to just two, so one fewer than the hybrid – having become such a secondary consideration was expected by TNZ new vehicles manager Steve Prangnell (pictured). But not to this extent.

If the trend cements, it’s probable the V6 will be gone before the model completes its full production life, which has spanned seven years for each of the three previous generations. 

“We have already advised Toyota Japan that we will not commit to it (the V6) for this Highlander’s full life cycle,” Prangnell says. “I doubt we will have it for the full duration.

“Our original plan was to go fully hybrid, but then we had significant feedback from customers that we should retain a V6 option. The decision … was driven by consumer demand - mainly from fleets.

“But with close to 85 percent of uptake already for the hybrid, I think we will have to review.”

Toyota has become a global leader in hybrid technology but Highlander has never been available for export with that choice until now.

The latest model’s step up to battery-assist means every mainstream road-tuned Toyota offered to Kiwis now has a hybrid option. The Camry sedan, which is on the same platform as Highlander, has just expunged the big engine.

Highlander’s intended entry into the Green brigade was signalled at its global reveal, at the 2019 New York motor show – chosen because the United States is the sole sourcing point.

Covid-19 hampered the production timing to degree that the model has been absent and now it is among a number of popular Toyotas impacted by the global shortage in semiconductor chips and also lithium ion battery supply constraints, yet TNZ is still relishing the opportunity.

SUV body styles are top-choice items with the buying public, accounting for 52 percent of sales currently, and preference for petrol-electric technology is driving the Palmerston North-domiciled operation’s success. Last year 8134 vehicles, equating to 38 percent of passenger models it sold in that period, had that influence.

The preference has already seen the RAV4 hybrid become the make’s top selling individual car here – and the one with the longest waiting list; order one today and it mightn’t arrive for eight months – and seen TNZ establish an industry lead for its weighted annual CO2 fleet average, which it aims to drop to below 159 grams per kilometre by year-end.

It is confident it can achieve the Government’s105g/km fleet target set to establish in 2023, and without influence from having an electric vehicle – though it will have several on sale by then, starting with this year’s Lexus UX300 and next year’s Toyota BZ4X.

The hybrid push also suits another fresh intention. In the past, Highlander’s success has been based on it being particularly popular with rental companies.

TNZ was attempting to wean off when Covid-19 hit, and the virus did a more effective job of terminating that reliance, though when the rental brands all but cleared out their inventories, that led to a glut of near-new Toyotas ending up back with the distributor: In respect to Highlander, the equivalent of 18 months’ supply.

Of course, sales of new and used cars since defied prediction and skyrocketed, so those cars have gone. The travel bubble with Australia has brought tourists across the Tasman – and rental brands are desperate to restock.

At same token, though, private sector sales have rocketed – TNZ expects 90 percent of its volume this year will go to that sector - and TNZ has made clear that, even if they have cars to sell to rental operators, the sweetheart discount deals of the past are now history.

In short, then, the likelihood this new model will be seen as the old was, as a rental darling representing in huge shoals at airports, is unlikely, though Prangnell believes that if hire car operators are happy with the new sales policy, they need to do their bit for the environment – and to meet customer preference - and buy more hybrids, a technology they’ve been reluctant to adopt in the past.

As expected, the new petrol electric presents as a big step forward for efficiency.

The V6 has been improved but its cited optimal fuel economy of 8.8 litres per 100km is easily beaten by the hybrid, which is claimed to achieve 5.6 litres per 100km on Toyota’s test bed. TNZ believes average running cost for hybrid will be $1500, against $2600 for the V6

The hybrid presents an even clearer advantage in respect to emissions. Again, the V6 has improved – whereas the old car generated 221 grams per kilometre of exhaust smut, the equivalent new outputs (minly due the new body being lighter, plus the introduction of stop-start) 208g/km – but the petrol-electric is much cleaner, with 128g/km cited.

The hybrid takes a back seat on performance, but overseas’ tests suggest the margin is conceivably not so wide as to be embarrassing.

The 3.5-litre produces 218kW and 350Nm through an eight-speed auto. In isolation, the hybrid’s 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol makes a far more modest 142kW.

However, it also has two electric motors to give it a lift. Their added assistance lifts the total combined output to 184kW and it generates 242Nm torque.

The hybrid system is exclusively all-wheel drive on account of how those electric motors are placed; one on the front axle and the other on the rear. The V6 also comes out of the factory in front-wheel-drive, but TNZ has restricted availability to all wheel drive.

 There’s more. The hybrid unavoidably carries a premium over the full-out petrol, but what really impacts more in the pricing scheme is that TNZ’s V6s are, at $60,990 in GXL and $63,990 in Limited, up to $10,000 cheaper than the outgoing equivalents were at full recommended retail.

That change of strategy allows for the hybrid to insert at $63,990 for the GXL and $66,990 in Limited, with a flagship Limited ZR at $74,990.

Drivetrains aside, the new-generation model also comes with a new platform and plenty of revisions not availed to the previous line. 

Equipment includes 18-inch alloys, fabric trim interior, LED headlights, 8.0-inch infotainment system and Toyota Sense safety with AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection (daytime), speed sign recognition, adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, intersection turn assistance, auto high beam, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and a reversing camera.

Higher level models bring nicer equipment such as a sunroof, leather trim upholstery, 11-speaker JBL sound system, heated and ventilated front seats, head-up display, powered tailgate and 360-degree view cameras.

 The car now sits on Toyota’s New Global Architecture GA-K platform, which is said to provide ‘multiple benefits for ride dynamics, safety and styling’. It does not yet have an ANCAP crash testing rating.